In his fortnightly column MARK SEDDON reflects on the death of Major Oak and why such ancient trees matter to us
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Starmer’s performative pledges and Witchfinder General Mason
Is Paul Mason’s excitement over Starmerism based in reality? NICK WRIGHT has doubts
The world’s largest communist party marked its 105th birthday this week — and remains true to its principles and firm in its course, says OLIVER VARGAS
The left has become too reliant on persuasion and too detached from the workplaces and communities it seeks to represent, argues NICK TROY
RAMZY BAROUD highlights how Israel’s ambassador sought to shut down UN officials documenting sexual violence and abuses against Palestinians
The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has had far-reaching consequences, including a boost to Pakistan’s regional standing, argues ROGER McKENZIE
The recent heatwaves revealed how ill-prepared Britain remains for a hotter future – and how unequal the ability to cope with it has become, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The drive to strengthen European defence is reshaping relations between France, Germany, Italy and Britain, says NICK WRIGHT
NOT content with perpetually reinventing himself, pundit Paul Mason now wants to reinvent the left.
The actually existing left is, in Mason’s words “…directionless, leaderless, riven into competing projects, with no guiding philosophy and — therefore completely incapable of achieving its favoured objective: Gramscian ‘hegemony’ within Britain’s progressive social majority.”
Note the careful phrasing which establishes the limits of left-wing ambition as within a “progressive social majority.”
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BEN CHACKO says in different ways, the centenary of the General Strike and that of Fidel Castro’s birth point to priority tasks for the British left in the coming year
Starmer sabotaged Labour with his second referendum campaign, mobilising a liberal backlash that sincerely felt progressive ideals were at stake — but the EU was then and is now an entity Britain should have nothing to do with, explains NICK WRIGHT
Deep disillusionment with the Westminster cross-party consensus means rupture with the status quo is on the cards – bringing not only opportunities but also dangers, says NICK WRIGHT
In the run-up to the Communist Party congress in November ROB GRIFFITHS outlines a few ideas regarding its participation in the elections of May 2026